Nicole Parker in Haven
by Sanura Bey
Summary: Nicole Parker tags alone with her sister to Haven only to uncover they mystery of the town and maybe even her personal life.
1. Welcome to Haven

I was sitting in my house reading a book when there was a knock on the door. I got up and went to the door to see my sister's boss.

"Agent Howard. Come on in." I said moving so he could come in. "I'll go get Audrey." I walked into my guest bedroom and saw my sister still sleeping under her forest patterned sheets. "Audrey, Agent Howard's here."

"Oh, no. No, no, no. Why didn't you wake me up sooner, Nikky?" she said groggily before fiddling with her alarm clock before accidentally turning on the radio, which plays "Love Will Keep Us Together". I smiled at her as she turned the radio off before moving to the sparsely decorated living room. There was a large wardrobe and some framed pictures of the woods and us leaning next to the wall. There were a couple small tables, both covered with books as was the mantel. We loved to read when we could.

"Agent Parker? Where are you?" Agent Howard called to her.

"God, it's kind of early, isn't it?" she asked coming into the room.

"Couldn't wait." He told her as he continued to look around the white room. "It's impressive how little you've done with... so little." He told me.

"I just moved in. That's why I asked Audrey to help me." I told him.

"It's what I do with all the vacation time that I don't get. We hit a bunch of outlet stores, and furniture shop with all the guys that we don't meet." She said sarcastically standing at attention with her hands clasped loosely behind her back.

"Never took you for uh...teenage vampires." Agent Howard said picking up one of our books from the coffee table, "Unstake My Heart".

"It's a book we share, actually." I told him.

"You should see what I read on the plane." She told him.

"FBI is non-fiction work. I need you to keep it that way." Agent Howard told her giving her a look.

"Is this about Miami?" she asked him putting her hair up in a messy bun before sitting in an empty chair next to me, one knee pulled toward her chest.

"Oh, yeah. I'm talking about Miami. We've been through this." He told her.

"You know, being open to possibilities is how we close cases... Like that one." She told him.

"It sends you down blind alleys, too." He warned before she started picking at her nails.

"Yeah, well where I grew up, a blind alley was even better than reality." She told him before snapping her fingers and fidgeting slightly, before standing and going to the wardrobe. "So... where are you sending me this time?"

"And how long will she be gone this time?" I asked him.

"Haven. Maine. Hometown of one Jonas Lester." He told her as he removed a thin folder from his coat and out it on the coffee table. Audrey pulled out her suitcase and placed it between us. "He escaped a federal lock-up nineteen hours ago. Killed a guard doing it. Find Lester. Bring him back." Audrey picked up the file from the table, opened it and scanned through the pages. "Nothing else. That's your reality. You're a good agent, Audrey. And someday, maybe, you'll be a great agent. Just... focus on the job."

"Is there a way I can some with her this time?" I asked him. "I'll pay for my own way of course, just want some time away."

"That's between the two of you." He told me looking at Audrey. She closed the folder and put it down on the table.

"Doesn't matter to me." She said and I smiled before getting up "Put the book on the table when you're done with it." She told him before we both went to our rooms to pack.

* * *

When we got to Haven the sun was shining brightly down on her car. Audrey was driving into Haven, on a long winding road next to the water's edge as we listened to the radio.

"This just in: Six of Tommy Bolt's seven missing fingers have been returned. This is Ryan Wisely atWDLH, the Voice of Haven." Audrey flicked the radio and "Love Will Keep Us Together" came on again.

"This must be a popular song." I noted staring at the radio.

"Probably is." We looked back at the road to see a huge crack had formed in the middle of the road. She swerved hard and her car crashed through the guard and almost completely tipped off the cliff edge. When the car fully stopped it was halfway off the edge of the cliff. "Okay... Nuh-uh. No. There's no way I'm dying to this." She risked leaning forward to turn the radio off and the car creaked terribly.

"Alright, let's not do that." I told her sitting as far back as I could. I screamed and jumped a little when a man tapped on the passenger window next to me.

"God!" Audrey said next to me.

"You need some help?" the man asked us.

"No. No, I'm all right. Thank you." She told him sarcastically.

"Oh. Okay, then." He stepped away from the car, leaving us alone.

"You have got to be kidding me." I said.

"God. Unbelievable." She said. He appeared on the driver's side window this time, startling us again. "Whoa!" he gestured at the locked door and she undid the lock on both our doors. He opened the door, reached in, grabbed by the shoulder and pulled her out before quickly moving to my side of the car and doing the same. Once we were out of the car, the car tipped over the edge of the cliff. The three of us stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down, watching it crash down to the bottom.

"Shame about the car." He said.

"Eh, it's a rental." He told her. He suddenly drew his gun and she mimicked him while I got behind her. They faced off in a weaver stance as I looked between the two of them. "Whoa! FBI! Who are you?"

"Haven PD. Who are you?" he asked her and I gave him a look.

"FBI. Are you deaf?" she asked him.

"How do I know that?" he asked her.

"Okay, well, for starters, I'm wearing the gun on my belt. It's a government-issue 9mm. And they gave me, you know, one of these." She said reaching into her jacket.

"Hey, keep your hands where I can see them." He told her and she stopped reaching.

"Okay, what am I going to do? Pull out another gun?" Audrey asked him. He gestured with his gun, indicating that she should grab her badge. Audrey reached back into her jacket and pulled out her badge. "Alright. Come on, I showed you mine." The man pulled out his badge and she squinted at it. He flipped the badge in his hand so that we could see his ID card and held it next to his face. "Okay." They both slowly lowered their guns and holstered them. "So, uh... are all your roads this bad?"

"Sandstone. Likes to shift." He told us.

"Sure it does." I said not believing him.

"Can I give you a ride somewhere?" he offered us.

"I guess it's friendlier than if I commandeer your vehicle." She told him.

"Probably less paperwork, too." He commented.

"Hmmph." She said smiling at him. We walked over to his truck and he opened the doors for us. "Thank you." She got in and pulled the door closed accidentally slamming it on the man's fingers. "Oh! I'm sorry are... are you alright?"

"It's alright. I didn't feel it." He told her.

"Oh. Tough guy, huh?" she asked him smiling before closing the door again.

"Be nice." I told her after I'd closed my door. He got into the driver's seat before starting the engine.

"Hey, uh I don't suppose you've seen a guy named Jonas Lester recently?" she asked him.

"Just left him." He said pulling the truck away from the ruined rental.

* * *

He took us to a crime scene on the bleach below a bluff. The large area of sand below the bluff was cornered off with police tape and two cruisers and an ambulance were parked on the side of the road. Audrey was bent over the dead body of Jonas Lester wearing crime scene gloves and using a plastic pen to manipulate the folds of his jacket.

"Well, keep looking all you want. This man's pretty dead. Tends not to change much." The chief of police told her.

"Chief Wuornos, this is..." the man said waiting for us to say our names.

"Special Agent Audrey Parker." She said standing up.

"Nicole Parker." I said.

"Oh. It's the FBI. Well, is this one of those situations where you're here claiming to help, but you're really just here to step on my toes?" he asked her.

"Not in these shoes. I came here, actually, looking for him." She told him looking back over the body.

"Yeah. Yeah, we got the alert when Jonas, here, escaped." Chief Wuornos told her.

"The Bureau thought that he might return to his hometown. I guess he did. Ah! Somebody missed something." She used a pair of tweezers to pull out a small piece of paper. "There's writing on it." She told us. The man who gave us the ride crouched down next to her and pulled out an evidence bag. "I can't read whatever this is, but it's worth checking out." She said dropping the paper into the bag.

"I'll get it to the lab in Bangor." He said leaving with the bag.

"Why don't you enlighten us? What does the FBI Special Agent have in the way of insight?" the Chief asked pulling out nicotine gum.

"Well, his injuries don't suggest a struggle. I don't think he was dragged here." Audrey told him.

"You don't?" Chief Wuornos asked her.

"He died last night." She told him as he popped the piece of nicotine gum. "But your guys are going to have to give us the exact time. At first glance, it looks like he fell from up there," she gestured up to the bluff above us, "but his body is way too far from the edge, you know, unless there's a cannon up there or something. Anyway, I'm not sold on it being an accident."

"You're over-thinking this. The best thing Jonas Lester ever did for this town was die. So, as far as I'm concerned, we're done." He told her.

"He killed a federal employee, so my investigation isn't done until I know why he came back here and what happened to him." She told him.

"Nathan, get yourself a real crime to investigate here." He told us before he started to walk off.

"Chief, how about I show Agent Parker and Miss Parker around, while we tie up the loose ends." Nathan offered.

"Go ahead. Waste his time, too. He's got nothing else to do with it." Chief Wuornos said walking off and Audrey took out her phone.

"It's Parker. Lester's dead." She said into the phone signaling she was talking to Agent Howard. "Well, they're calling it an accident, but something doesn't seem right." She listened to his reply. "Chief Wuornos doesn't think so." She told him. "I'm working with a local detective, uh..." she looked to Nathan for a name to give Howard.

"Wuornos." He told her.

"You call your dad the Chief?" Audrey asked Nathan as we walked up to the cliff Jonas Lester fell from.

"I call my boss the Chief." He corrected her.

"He's a stubborn man. What's his deal? Is he testing me?" she asked him.

"Not you. Me." He told her.

"Hey, no offense, but half the reason I want to solve this case is just to piss him off." She told me.

"And it would." He told her.

"Doesn't seem that hard then." I said sarcastically.

"I guess that's one advantage of being raised by the state: not much parental conflict." She said as she started looking around on the ground.

"So… You're orphans?" he asked us.

"Free agents." She corrected.

"Tuwiuwok. Is that Native American?" I asked him curiously.

"Migmaw, yea. It means "Haven"." He translated.

"It's easier to spell, I guess." Audrey said as we found a path. "Huh."

"What?" I asked her.

"These must be Lester's footprints." She told me indicating the footprints on the path. "It looks like they're chasing a second set right… here." She said following the path. "And Lester's end abruptly… here."

"Could be." Nathan agreed. I looked at the surrounding area and found a sight that confused me.

"Uprooted trees?" I asked drawing their attention to it.

"Well, that… that's strange." Audrey said. "You guys get tornadoes up here this time of year?" she asked the Detective.

"Maybe… One a year." He told her.

"Really?" she asked him while looking at the trees around us. "'Cause something did a number on these trees." She said pulling out her phone.

"No wind last night. I already checked." He told her.

"You did?" she asked him.

"Couldn't find a cannon, either." He told her making her laugh lightly.

"Damn, and that idea seemed the best one." I said sarcastically. Audrey gave me a look as Nathan disappeared into the trees before looking down at the ground for anything that could help. She used her pen to pick up a revolver and held it up in the air. "Now we're talking."

"Nice gun, though Lester wasn't shot." He told her. "I did find this." He held up an old dirty hat.

"A hat?" she asked putting the gun into an evidence bag.

"I know a guy who wears a hat like this." He told her.

"So do I, but that doesn't make it evidence." She told him.

"Well Lester stole all my guy's money." Nathan told her.

"Will that do?" I asked her and she sent me another look.

"So that makes it evidence." She said before she started walking away from us. "Let's go talk to your guy."

* * *

Nathan drove us into town and when we could finally see the whole town.

"Welcome to Haven. You two like pancakes?" he asked us. "We've got good pancakes."

"What about lobster?" Audrey asked him.

"Isn't Maine famous for lobster?" I asked him.

"I don't like lobster." He told us. "I really like pancakes."

"I like the truck." She told him trying to make conversation.

"Thanks. Had it since I was 19." He told her.

"How do you keep a cat that long?" she asked him.

"I don't drive off cliffs." He told her.

"Sound advice." I said smiling at the two as he parked in front of a building. We all climbed out of his truck and I took a good look at the place we were at.

"So… who's this hat belong to?" Audrey asked him.

"Conrad Brower." He told her. "Gulf war vet, local handyman. Went into service with Lester. Conrad came out an unemployed hero, Lester came out a loser with computer skills. Did time for stealing VA benefits from guys he was in with."

"Including Conrad." Audrey put together.

"Yep." We walked to a man working on a window. "Hey, Conrad."

"Nathan." Conrad greeted.

"Helping Marion again?" Nathan asked him.

"That's what I do." Conrad told him.

"Found your hat up on Tuwiuwok Bluff." He told him.

"Thanks. Appreciate it." He told Nathan taking the hat from Audrey.

"Uh… were you out there yesterday evening?" Audrey asked him moving closer to him.

"Maintain the perimeter." Conrad told her suddenly. "Please."

"What?" she asked confused.

"Uh… Conrad has personal space issues." The detective told her.

"Right." She said moving away from him. "Pardon me, Mr. Brower. Any particular time you were planning on answering my question?" she asked him showing him her badge.

"I was up there this morning." Conrad told her. "I like to watch the boats head out. Forgot the hat, I guess."

"And you never saw Jonas Lester?" she asked.

"Not moving." He answered.

"But you did know him." She stated.

"You mean the service." He didn't bother saying it as a question already knowing the answer.

"Right." She told him. "And then when you got out, he stole all your money."

"Not just mine." He told her. "I know where you're going."

"Conrad… yesterday, late afternoon, evening, where were you?" Nathan asked him.

"Digging clams. Out to Edgewater Bay." Conrad answered. "'till sunset."

"Alright, you speak monosyllable. You wanna try to break through his perimeter while I to inside and talk to the shop owner?" Audrey asked him.

"Sure." Nathan answered.

"Where are you going?" Conrad asked as she tried to go inside the shop.

"Mr. Brower, if you have something that you want to tell me, you go right on ahead." She told him. She waited a moment before looking behind us. I turned to see a large amount of fog coming our way, and fast. It seemed to come at us in all directions except beneath us. "That's weird."

"No kidding." We looked around us but the fog was so thick I could barely see my hand in front of my face.

"Conrad?" I heard Audrey call out. "Conrad!"

"He's gone." Nathan told her. We could hear a car horn honking, brakes squealing and a man screaming through the fog. A woman called for us to look out as a blur past us on a bike. We heard cars crashing into one another before another horn honked closer to us this time.

"Nathan! Watch out!" Audrey called out to him pushing him out of the way of an oncoming truck.

* * *

A little later the police were everywhere taking statements as to what happened and an ambulance was taking care of the injured. One of the paramedics was working on Nathan's arm which was the only thing injured when he and Audrey fell on the road.

"Congratulations, Nathan. Now you get to come back with me for an MRI." She told him after he finished bandaging him up.

"Lucky number nine." He told her.

"Yeah. Cheer up. The tenth one's free!" she joked.

"He's a regular." She told us. "Be back in a jiff." She took her things and went back to the ambulance.

"You seriously can't feel pain?" Audrey asked him.

"It's called idiopathic neuropathy." He told her.

"So you weren't just being a tough guy earlier? You really couldn't feel it when the that car door hit your hand?" I asked him.

"No." he answered me.

"Can you feel fire?" she asked him.

"No."

"Ice?"

"Oddly, yes, I can feel ice." He told her.

"You can feel ice?" she asked.

"No." he said. "I can feel a headache coming on, though."

"Hey, so that was strange." Audrey said moving topics from Nathan to the mysterious fog. "I've never seen fog like that before."

"Maine gets lots of kinds of fog." Nathan told her putting on his sweater. Audrey and I shared a look and we both agreed he was hiding something from us.

"Alright. Get in the back." The paramedic told Nathan.

"Oh, I can drive myself." He told her.

"I'm not arguing with you, Nathan." She told him. "Back."

"Go, I'll call the Bureau and then we'll check out Conrad's alibi." Audrey called after him.

"Elinor you're overreacting." Nathan told the woman as they walked away from us. Audrey dialed Agent Howard on her phone.

"Agent Howard, yeah. I'm still here. I haven't found anything. Nothing relevant, anyway, but I'll keep in touch." She told him as two men stopped in front of us.

"You must be Agent Parker and her sister Nicole." The taller one said. "I understand you're investigating Jonas Lester's death."

"And you are…?" she asked him.

"Dave Teagues. My brother, Vince." The shorter introduced handing us each a card. "Publishers, editors, and every damn thing else at the Haven Harold."

"We thought Lester'd be our lead, but now it'll be the fog." Vince told us.

"Yeah. That fog was strange, right?" Audrey asked them.

"Has anything like that ever happened before?" I asked them.

"Well, welcome to Haven." Dave told us not answering either question.

"Keep feeling like I've seen you before." Vince told us.

"Didn't sound creepy at all." Dave told him sarcastically.

"Oh Lord. It does." Vince said just realizing it. "Doesn't it?"

"Only because you said it, Vince. How about we drop by later and the two of you can answer a few questions about the case?" Dave asked us.

"How about we just call you?" Audrey asked him.

"Oh! Fierce, isn't she?" Vince asked his brother.

"Well change your mind, drop by." Dave told us going to the bike behind him.

"We serve Mai Tais at 3." Vince told us and we laughed lightly.

"Ok." Audrey told him.

"I want to ride in the front this time." Vince told his brother.

"No, no. I always ride in the front." Dave reminded him.

"Well, it's my turn now." Vince told him and we turned to walk away.

"Agent Parker. Nicole." We turned to see Nathan running up to us. "MRI's are overrated. Let's go talk to Mary." We walked into the shop to see a woman and a man look up.

"Nathan. Is everyone alright out there?" the woman asked.

"It will be." Nathan told her. "This is Audrey Parker with the FBI and her sister, Nicole." Nathan introduced us. "Marian Caldwell."

"This is my friend, Ted Ford." She introduced us to her friend.

"Hello." He greeted with a smile.

"Is this Santa Barbara?" Audrey asked looking at what they were looking at. I looked down to see brochures with Santa Barbara written on it and beautiful pictures under it.

"Yes. Have you been there?" Marion asked her.

"Twice. Once for a pedophile and the other for a serial killer." Audrey told her looking at the pictures. We all gave her a small look.

"Marion and I are thinking of moving there and buying a shop." Ted told us.

"Oh!" Audrey said finally getting the idea. "Oh. It's beautiful. It's beautiful and a lot safer now."

"Well, we're just flirting with the idea." Marion told us.

"Marion lost her mother not long ago, and I think the change might be good for her." Ted explained and I smiled at her.

"Ted's had antique shops all over. I've never left Haven so… it's a big step." She told us.

"Uh, Conrad Brower, he works for you right?" Audrey asked her getting to the point why we came into the store.

"Yes, he does. He's been very helpful since my mother passed." Marion told us.

"And how well do you know him?" Audrey asked her.

"Oh, we grew up together." Marion answered.

"What's this about?" Ted asked us.

"Do either of you know Jonas Lester?" Nathan asked them before his phone rang.

"The guy who died?" Ted asked. "I heard about it." Nathan moved away to answer his phone and Audrey took over.

"Do you know where Conrad was last night?" she asked the couple.

"Yes, I dropped him off at Edgewater Beach to go clamming." Marion told us. "He made me stay for the first bucket. He's so thoughtful that way."

"I'm sure he is." Audrey agreed.

"Whatever you might be thinking, Agent Parker, Conrad's a solid guy." Ted insisted.

"Oh, he just couldn't be involved." Marion told us. "Conrad is the gentlest man I've ever met." Audrey and I shared a look as Nathan moved back to us.

"Excuse me. We need to go." Nathan told us.

"Thank you." Audrey said as we left the store. Nathan pilled us into his truck and drove down to the docks.

"Okay, you know, this better be good, because Marion might have more to tell me about Conrad." Audrey told the detective as we walked down the pier.

"Gun trace came in. Belongs to a guy I know." He told us. "Duke Crocker."

"You like him for this?" Audrey asked him.

"I don't like him period." He corrected her.

"Sounds like this will be fun to watch." I said with a smile on my face as I followed them.

"Okay, now. Let's see what we're smuggling this week." Nathan said as he got onto the boat. "Hello? Duke!" Audrey and I looked over the top of the boat from the side as Nathan climbed some stairs. "DUKE!" he called once more. "Ugh, he's not here." Before joining us on the dock. "Everything about this guy is a pain in my ass." Audrey and I shared a confused look before quickly following him.

"Why? Because he wasn't home?" she asked him confused.

"Because he unreliable, untrustworthy, a total waste of…"

"Yeah, I got it." She stopped him from talking.

"You don't pull your punches there do you?" I asked him sarcastically. "Where exactly are we going?"

"To look for Duke under the usual rocks." He told me.

"You two go do that and I'll wait here." I told them. "I'll let you know when he comes back."

"And how will you know it it's him?" Audrey asked me.

"It's called asking." I told her with a smile before she followed Nathan back to his truck.

They left me alone on the dock and I waited until way past nightfall when a thunderstorm started and I got a phone call from Audrey.

"Hey we can't find him." She told me.

"Yeah, he hasn't shown up here either." I told her when it started to hail.

"Why don't you come back in?" she asked me.

"I have no car and I'm not driving in a town I don't know in this weather. I'll find some shelter and call you back later." I told her before hanging up my phone. I started running towards the edge of the dock when lightning struck a power box next to me throwing me into the water. I felt a rush of the cold water before I passed out.

* * *

When I woke up I was in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. I jumped up and held the blanket to me when it started to fall and I saw nothing but flesh. I lifted up the blanket and my eyes widened with I saw nothing.

"Okay, Nicole. Don't freak out. You only woke up stark ass naked in a strangers room." I told myself. "Nothing to worry about." I looked around and saw a shirt folded. I grabbed the shirt and put it on before walking out cautiously. When I got to the deck I saw a man reading a paper in what looked like Chinese. "You took my things." He lowered the paper and I finally got a good look at the man. He had a small beard and mustache with short black hair.

"Good morning." He told me.

"You took my things." I repeated.

"Well, now I laundered your clothes and bag and I cleaned your jewelry." He corrected me. "I saved your life. That's an odd combination when you think about it."

"Yeah, I normally don't get naked for a guy until I get a name and go on a few dates." I told him.

"Duke Crocker." He told me as he made a cup of coffee and I nodded.

"Nicole Parker. Nathan told us about you." I told him. I waited for him to finish his coffee making before he stood and walked to me with the cup.

"Milk and one sugar, right?" he asked me.

"Close, but no. How would you know how I like my coffee anyway?" I asked him.

"I wouldn't, but wouldn't it be cool if I did?" he asked me. I laughed lightly before moving to the laundered clothes.

"Nathan really doesn't like you, does he?" I asked him pulling my brown pants down from the line.

"No, no he doesn't." he told me. He stared at me and I gave him a look. He smirked before turning around.

"Why doesn't he like you?" I asked him as I pulled on my pants. "Just 'cause he's a cop and you're a smuggler?"

"Who told you I was a smuggler?" he asked me.

"Well when we all came here Nathan asked what you were smuggling this week." I told him as I pulled on my red shirt. I grabbed my coffee and joined him as he read his paper, coffee in hand. This of course let me know he wasn't turned away the whole time I was dressing.

"Let me guess what else he said. He's unreliable, dishonest, and a general pain in the butt." He listed off.

"Close." I told him. "He said you were a pain in his ass."

"Wow. And strangely I was going to say that." He told me and I gave him a small look. "I was." He said before handing me my necklace and ring that matched with gold earrings I wore.

"Was he right?" I asked him. He moved his hand slowly in a so-so fashion and I smiled before looking at the torn up ships on the shore. "Is the weather ever normal here or are my sister and I just lucky to come at a time when it's this strange?"

"It's uh…. Normal for Maine." He told me.

"I've never heard of weather like this." I told him. "I should call my sister and let her know I'm okay." I said patting my pants for my phone before I finally remembered the water. "Damn it, my phone…"

"Yeah, it's toast." Duke told me. "But I got you another one." He told me holding up a sparkly pink phone.

"A princess phone?" I asked him. "Really?"

"You really need to work on your thank yous." He told me as I held my hand out for the phone. He place it in my hand with a smirk.

"Thank you." I told him before calling Audrey. Thankfully I'd memorized her number a long time ago.

"Hello?" Audrey answered on the phone.

"Hey sis." I greeted her with a smile she couldn't see.

"Nicole! Where are you?" she asked me.

"I'm on Duke's boat. He saved me from drowning last night." I told her.

"Drowning?" she asked me. "Why didn't you just swim?"

"Long story short, more weird weather knocked me out and into the water." I told her.

"Okay, I'm going to talk to Conrad again then come and get you." She told me before hanging up the phone.

"Well my sister will be here soon enough." I told him.

"What are you and your sister doing here?" he asked me.

"She's here for her job and I tagged along." I told him sitting next to him.

"What's her job?" he asked me.

"FBI." I told him and his eyes widened.

"Why are the Feds here?" he asked me.

"Jonas Lester." I told him.

"The dead guy?" he asked me and I nodded. "Nathan said your gun was the one my sister found at the scene."

"I wasn't there." He told me and I raised my eyebrow at him. "I wasn't."

"So your gun just magically appeared where Jonas happened to be thrown off a cliff?" I asked him.

"No, that would be ridiculous. It was stolen. Filed a report and everything." He told me. I thought about what he said and it made since to me. If it was stolen then Jonas could have been up on that hill with his killer and dropped the gun when he was pushed off the cliff.

"Makes since to me." I told him.

"Thankfully it's not up to you." I turned to see Nathan glaring at us, well Duke.

"Nathan? What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"Duke Crocker you're under arrest for the murder of Jonas Lester."

* * *

During the ride to the station I tried talking to Nathan but he wasn't listening to me.

"Come on! If you knew the gun was reported stolen why are you even suspecting him?" I asked him as he sat Duke to a table in the middle of the station.

"His gun was at the scene of the crime. Reason enough." He told me.

"But he reported it stolen." I added once more.

"And he's a liar." He told me. I sighed and turned to see Audrey walk in with Conrad cuffed in front of her.

"Thank god you're here. Maybe you can talk some since into him." I told her pointing to Nathan.

"Why? Who's he?" she asked me sitting Conrad at the same table as Duke.

"This is Duke Croker whose gun was reported stolen before finding its way to your murder scene." I told her.

"Let him go. Conrad's our guy." Audrey told him.

"Don't think so?" Nathan asked her.

"Well did your guy confess?" she asked him and Duke raised his hand.

"Uh… No. No he did not." Duke told her.

"Conrad?" Nathan said looking to the older man. "Are you saying you did this?"

"Yeah, Nathan. That's what I'm saying." Conrad told him.

"Thank you sir." Duke said leaning over the table to him. "Can I go now?" Duke asked standing and holding his hands out to Nathan.

"Sit down." Nathan ordered pushing him down back into the chair. "Conrad, come with me." Nathan ordered and they both walked away.

"Oh come on!" I called to him.

"How did you know he's innocent?" she asked me.

"Just a feeling I have." I told her.

"And your feelings haven't been wrong yet." Audrey told me.

"Exactly." I agreed. "You and I both know he didn't kill Lester."

"That's great!" Duke said sarcastically. "I'll buy the first round."

"Not helping." I told him.

"I also know, that Nathan's right." Audrey told me before turning to Duke. "You saw Lester."

"Ok, here's the thing," Duke said turning to look her in the eyes. "I have a rule, well it's more of a guideline, but I don't talk to cops. Even cops that I like."

"I could have a customs agent assigned to you." Audrey told him. "And only you." She showed him what was in her file and I looked at it to see numbers.

"Nice photo." He said turning the paper to her before putting it back in the file. "I think an apology from Nathan," I turned to see Nathan glance up at us and I shook my head hiding a small smile. "Might help me remember." Audrey and I looked to Nathan. He gave her a look and she nodded her head at him. She expected him to do what was needed for the case to be solved. He sighed and turned away from us.

"Fine." He finally said. "I apologize.

"For?" Duke asked him.

"Pushing it much?" I asked him quietly.

"Look." Duke started but I elbowed him in the gut. It was better just to work with them on this. "Lester wanted me to run him up to Canada."

"Yea?" Nathan asked him, obviously not believing the story.

"Yea." Duke answered. "But smuggling escaped felons is not on my to-do list."

"Alright that 2-5-7-8/ is that a partial phone number?" Audrey asked him. "Social Security?"

"If Lester was looking for a boat." Nathan said getting up and walking back to us. "Maybe it's a registration number." Duke just shrugged his shoulders. "Wanna make this easy for me?"

"No." Duke answered. "I mean, not particularly."

"Fine." Nathan said standing straight. "Harbor Master will tell us the rest."

"Do you mind taking care of that yourself?" Audrey asked him and I looked at her confused.

"Are you really buying this story of Conrad's?" Nathan asked her. Beside me, Duke started looking for a way out of the cuffs holding him and I stood to stand next to Audrey and Nathan.

"Nathan, what happened to Lester happened to me, ok?" she told him. "He just… he blew me down the street."

"And that freak storm last night had to have come from somewhere. Or someone." I added.

"Blew you down the street?" Nathan asked her obviously not believing her story. "A random storm happening this close to the ocean strike you as odd?" he asked me.

"Listen. I can't even begin to explain it, alright?" she said. "But it happened, and it happened to me. I know it sounds crazy, but… I can't even believe I'm saying it."

"Oh. I can't believe it either." Nathan told her.

"So what am I supposed to do?" she asked him. "Just pretend that it didn't happen? What kind of cop does that?"

"You know how that will sound on a witness stand." He reminded her.

"Listen. I know that I don't have it all together, and I'm just trying to figure it all out." She explained. "So I'll go keep working Conrad's story and you go check out the docks."

"I'll go with you." I offered to her. "Maybe I can help."

"Okay." She agreed.

"Excuse me, uh…" Duke said getting us all to turn to him. "I mean… you guys are going to let me go, first, right?"

"No." they both said together.

"Oh, come on, Audrey. Just let the guy go." I told her as I followed her to the office she was.

"Why do you want us to let him go so badly?" she asked me. "You into him?"

"Of course not," I denied. "He saved me last night and I don't think it's right keeping a guy locked up just cause the guy who's finally peeking your interest said so." I told her closing the door to the office.

"Nathan isn't peeking my interest!" she denied before sitting at her borrowed desk.

"Don't forget who you're talking to Audrey." I told her as she looked up the papers she needed. She split the papers into two and handed half the stack to me. "Fine." I sat down and started looking over the papers she handed to me. It was a short time before she started sniffing. "What's up?"

"Do you smell that?" she asked me and I took a deep breath.

"What is it?" I asked her making a face.

"I don't know." She lowered the laptop monitor in front of her and looked around before spotting a set of bottles. She picked it up and sorted through it, smelling one of them. She made a face before opening a drawer next to her and putting the box of bottles inside.

"We gave Nathan that, you know." Dave said as he and his brother walked into the office.

"Well, they're kind of ah…" Audrey started saying before losing her words.

"Fragrant." I offered and she nodded.

"Not our taste, either." Vince laughed.

"But when you only have 4 senses, you make the most of them." Dave told us. Audrey nodded in understanding.

"We have a little present for you." Vince said. He was vibrating with excitement over something.

"Vince, relax." Dave told him. "It isn't a puppy. Here." Dave handed Audrey a manilla folder and I moved next to her so I could see what was inside.

"This could be whit I thought I recognized you." Vince told us.

"Oh." Audrey said nodding as she took out the paper.

"We found that in out newspaper archives from 27 years ago." Dave told us and my mouth fell open at the picture. There was a woman with dark hair holding a little boy's hand staring at another person with dark hair kneeling next to a man leaning on a post. A few people were looking at them and another man was taking a picture of the women, but the woman whose face we could see looked exactly like Audrey.

"Who is she?" Audrey asked.

"I was hoping you could tell me." Vince told her. "Do the two of you have family around here?"

"Uh… We don't have family anywhere. Just each other." Audrey told him. She handed the photo to me and I continued to stare at it.

"Are you still puzzling over that fog?" Vince asked changing the subject.

"Oh, ah, more than just the fog." She told him. "Did Conrad Brower ever make the paper?"

"It's easy enough to check our archives if I can use your computer, there." Dave told her.

"Oh, yeah! Go ahead." She told him. She got up so he could sit in her seat and he quickly went to their website. "Wow, that's impressive."

"You should see him use the Google machine." Vince told her and I stifled a laugh.

"You're hilarious." Dave told him sarcastically as he worked. "Conrad Brower. Any particular context?" he asked turning to Audrey.

"Weather." She told him.

"Oh, I like how this girl thinks." Vince said and I gave him a strange look before looking back over Dave's shoulder. Vince eventually joined us as we looked at the computer. "Nothing much on Conrad, just the usual returning war hero piece."

"A beautifully-written war hero piece." Dave corrected his brother.

"Obviously he wrote it." Vince told us and I laughed lightly.

"Huh." Dave said drawing our attention again. "Those weather patterns of yours turned up, though."

"There's that interview Harold did with the Hastings family in 1956, right after they moved here from Calerin, Georgia." Vince said as Audrey and I leaned closer to the computer.

"1956?" Audrey asked them.

"They were the only survivors of a freakish series of storms that destroyed their hometown." He read before turning to his brother. "Daughter was a cast-iron bitch."

"Dave!" Vince scolded.

"Well, she was. It was a blessing when she kicked off recently." Dave told him.

"The granddaughter is lovely, though!" Vince reminded him.

"Guys." Audrey said trying to pull them back to us.

"I don't think they're listening to us." I told her.

"Yeah, well it must have been the Caldwell part of the family." Dave told him.

"Caldwell?" I asked them.

"Do you mean Marion Caldwell?" Audrey asked.

"Yeah." The both confirmed and Audrey and I gave each other a look.

"Call Nathan." I told her pulling out my phone. I quickly dialed Marion's number Audrey had given me.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Marion? It's Nicole Parker." I told her.

"Oh, Miss Parker, I'm sorry, but I can't talk right now." She told me.

"Marion, I need you to listen to me. I know you were on that cliff with Lester." I told her.

"How did you know?" she asked me.

"Doesn't matter." I told her. "Lester was after your inheritance." I told her after Audrey wrote it down on a paper and handed it to me. Her conversation with Nathan was over. I looked up from the paper to her and sighed lightly.

"I don't understand." Marion told me over the phone.

"Marion, he was working with Ted." I told her.

"What? No. I don't believe that." She denied.

"What were you doing on that cliff?" I asked her.

"I was supposed to go meet Ted to go stargazing…" she told me before pausing and thinking about it. "But he never showed up."

"Ted got you up there and Lester was supposed to kill you." I told her.

"No." she denied once again. "No."

"Does Ted have access to your accounts?" I asked her.

"The deposit." She told me, fear lacing her breathy tone.

"Marion?" I called into the phone looking up at Audrey. "Marion? You there?"

"I have to go." She told me. "Now!" she slammed the phone on something.

"Marion! Wait!" I hung up the phone. "Damn it! Call Nathan back, now!" I told Audrey before we headed for the door of the station.

"Nathan? Marion's going after Ted, and she doesn't know what she's capable of. She could hurt him, and a lot of other innocent people." She told him as we made our way to a car. I looked at the sky before climbing inside the car.

"Audrey. The sky." I told her pointing to the beginnings of a tornado.

"I know exactly where she's going." she told Nathan before getting into the car

* * *

By the time we pulled up to Marion and Ted, the wind was horrible and she was yelling at Ted telling him he'd lied to her. We got out and walked to them.

"Marion." Audrey called to her.

"This doesn't concern you!" she told us.

"Look around you, Marion!" Audrey told her. "All of this is you."

"You need to calm down!" I told her before Ted ran off. I turned to see Nathan had pulled up behind us then looked back to Marion.

"Marion, listen to me!" Audrey told her. "You've hurt people and you're going to keep hurting people."

"You remember the wind that killed Lester? The fog? The hail?" I asked her. "You're doing all of this, and you need to make it stop."

"Let it go." Audrey told her. "Just let it go." She pulled something out of her pocket and stared down at it before she started crying.

"It's going to be okay." I said walking up to her and holding her. She held me tightly and sobbed as the sky cleared up.

* * *

Later that day, I stood next to Marion on the beach as Audrey and Conrad pulled up and waved at them.

"You going to be okay?" I asked her.

"I think so." She told me as she stared out at the ocean.

"That ribbon, it's from Conrad. Isn't it?" I asked her and she smiled. "He's your anchor in this place. You love him."

"I do." She confirmed.

"Let him in." I told her. "Let him ground your emotions." I hugged her before passing Conrad up to Audrey. Together we watched the two of them watching the ocean. They spoke briefly before she tried to grab his hand. He jumped and she pulled her hand back. He then grabbed her hand and they just stared at each other.

"Come on." Audrey said pulling me with her. "We have a stop to make."

* * *

We stopped by the florists before going to the police station. We walked in with her bouquet of lilies and she placed them on a sleeping Nathan's desk. She picked up a piece of paper and I glanced over her shoulder to see it was the picture of the woman Dave and Vince had given us.

"Lilies and lilac." Nathan suddenly said.

"So you're not sleeping." I pointed out as he opened his eyes.

"You're an odd man, detective." Audrey told him and he turned to us. "How's your shoulder?"

"It's alright." He answered.

"Oh? Tough guy." She laughed.

"So, you tie up the loose ends on Lester?" Nathan asked her.

"He and Ted worked it from the start." She told him. "Then Lester got picked up on a routine parole violation, then broke out so Ted wouldn't walk off with his share."

"How's Marion doing with all this?" Nathan asked.

"She's still getting used to the idea that she can control the weather with her moods." I told him.

"You still believe that?" he asked us.

"And you still don't?" she asked and he shook his head. "When you've ruled everything else out, you have to accept what's left."

"Guess I'm not ready to rule everything else out yet." Nathan told her.

"Guess not." I said as Audrey folded up the picture.

"I know that picture." Nathan told her causing her to glance at it.

"You do?" she asked him.

"Mmhmm." He confirmed. "Colorado Kid murder. Chief was a beat cop on the case. He never solved it, which I try and remind him of whenever I can."

"The chief?" Audrey asked him and he nodded. "You mean your dad?"

"I mean the chief." He told her. "Can I see it?" she handed the picture over and he stared at it, then at her. "She looks like you."

"Yeah." She told him. "Yeah, I know."

"So what do you think? Is she your mother? "Your aunt?" he asked us.

"We don't know." I told her when she paused.

"You know, every other kid we knew dreamed that their parents would come and claim them, and then they'd turn out to be rock starts." She told him. "But I, I just dreamed that… you know, never mind.

"Too late to stop now." He told her smiling.

"I dreamed that my mother would roll up in a bit bus, and she would rescue every kid in every orphanage in the world and bring them home." She told him.

"Might be a good idea to let that one go." Nathan told her.

"Yeah, well I wish I could." She told him standing up from her chair and taking the picture from him.

* * *

We were standing at the post where the man had been leaning on. Staring at it like it might have held some answers. Audrey pulled out her phone and dialed a number before listening to the ringer.

"Hey, boss. Uh… you know that vacation time I never take? I need a few weeks. There's just something I need to look into." She told Agent Howard as I sat on a rock where the Colorado Kid had been when he'd died.

"Think we'll find answers?" I asked her.

"I hope so."


	2. Butterfly

The morning after Audrey and I decided to stay in Haven, I followed her into the Cheif's office as she slammed the picture of the Colorado Kid article on his desk.

"Well, good morning to you too, Agent Parker. Miss Parker," he greeted once he looked up from the lunch menu.

"We need to know more about her," Audrey ordered.

"I'm fine, thank you very much, nice of you to ask," he said sarcastically before putting his pen down and giving us his undivided attention. "I didn't know the two of you were still in town."

"That's all we get?" Audrey asked him. "The folksy, local cop brush off?"

"I was shooting for "civil"," he told her.

"You missed," I said crossing my arms under my bust.

"OK, you know what? You-" she started complaining before starting over. "My bad. Let me take this again." She sat down across from him and folded her fingers together. "You were the local beat cop in that photo, right?" She asked already knowing the answer. "You would have taken a witness statement from that woman."

"Maybe," he said looking up at her from the photo. "It was a long time ago."

"Wouldn't there be some sort of paper trail for us to follow?" I asked.

"It was a long time ago," he reiterated.

"27 years isn't that long of a time," I sighed.

"This is a funny town you have here," Audrey laughed leaning back in her seat.

"Well, I'd say "unique"," he told her. "Now is there a point coming my way?"

"We've been a lot of help to you recently," Audrey said motioning to the two of us. "Discreet help. And we were just hoping for a little _quid pro quo_."

"Oh, that sounds illicit."

"I was shooting for "civil"." He grinned falsely at her before laughing.

"Alright, ok, it's gonna take a couple days," he told us. "How long are you going to be in town?"

"That depends on you," she told him sitting up again.

"Then just relax, enjoy yourself," he instructed. "You know what you ought to do is go and visit the Haven moose farm; it's not to be missed. Enjoy the vacation."

"She/I don't do vacations," Audrey and I said together and she just gave me a look.

"Then look at it like a, uh, learning opportunity," the chief told her.

"Dad," Nathan said walking into the chief's office.

"Hey," Audrey and I greeted.

"You're still in Haven," he pointed out.

"Oh, apparently, we're vacationing," Audrey said standing up.

"As much as she's going to procrastinate." Audrey nudged my side and I gave her a look. The chief coughed behind us and I watched Audrey and Nathan share a look. "Actually, I'm looking into the woman in the picture."

"Unsuccessfully," I added.

"What can we do for you, Nathan?" the Chief asked him popping a cough drop in his mouth.

"There's something strange down at the Rust Bucket," Nathan told him. "I'm heading out."

"Hey, can we tag along?" Audrey asked him.

"We?" I asked her.

"Come on," she said giving me a look. "We're not really big on the moose museum."

"It's actually a farm," Nathan corrected.

"Farm, gallery, museum- can we come?"

"Well-" Nathan started but the Cheif interrupted him.

"I think it's a great idea. Nathan here can use all the help he can get."

"After you." Nathan stepped aside and let the two of us pass him out the door.

* * *

We rode with Nathan in silence to the Rust Bucket, which turned out to be a bar, and I couldn't keep my eyes off the "something strange" Nathan had talked about.

"Whoa," Audrey said what we were both thinking. "Alright, the first question is: Why is there a giant metal ball?"

"Everyone knows that ball," Nathan told us.

"Second question: Why is there a ball everyone knows about?" I asked him.

"Yeah, it's part of a sculpture that's usually up on Greet St. It's been there forever," Nathan said. "Every year, high school seniors try and steal it, fail, pick something else..."

"And they fail because...?" Audrey asked.

"... It's a big bronze ball," Nathan pointed out.

"Someone's going to pay for this," a man said staring at the damage the ball caused.

"Excuse me, sir," Audrey said getting his attention. "Agent- uh, Officer Parker, Haven PD... sort of. Uh, did you see anything?"

"Yeah," he told her. "A big metal ball crushing my place."

"Was there anybody pushing it, or a truck that unloaded it?" she asked him.

"Just a ball rolling down the hill."

"Is there a person in particular that you may have recently upset?"

"Ed Driscoll was in my face last night."

"Driscoll was here?" Nathan asked him.

"Yeah," the man nodded. "He's not a big fan of this place since he quit drinking."

"You know him?" Audrey asked.

"Yeah, I know him," Nathan told her. "I also know he has a place on Green St."

"Where the ball was up until last night," Audrey put together. We loaded back up and went to see this Ed Driscoll person.

* * *

"You don't mind, do you?" Audrey asked Nathan as he drove us to Green St.

"Mind what?"

"That I invited us along." Audrey motioned to the two of us.

"It's a giant metal ball. Who could resist that?" he asked her.

"Exactly," she agreed, smiling at him. Anyone else smell a romance?

* * *

"Well, there's nothing complicated about that ball," the man they were questioning said. "Outer shell of bronze, filled with about three tons of sand."

"And how long would you say it's been anchored here?" Audrey asked him.

"Church bought it in '68, installed in '69. To heavy to move after," he told her crossing his arms.

"No rust on these chains," Nathan noted.

"Oh, I only put them on last year," he told Nathan. "The new insurance company made us do it. I told them the ball wasn't going anywhere."

"Probably rethinking those words now," I said and he just looked at me.

"Alright, let's go find Driscoll," Audrey said and we walked away from the statue and into the church.

* * *

The reverend was baptizing a baby in its mother's arms when we quietly entered and sat in the back.

"Well he doesn't look like the kind of guy who'd get into fights with bartenders and then destroy the place," Audrey noted.

"You should wait till he opens his mouth," Nathan warned.

"I take it you know him well?" I asked him.

"More than I'd like," he said.

"This child belongs to God now," Driscoll said.

"Amen," the entire congregation said.

"He will walk in the path of the Lord with us. It is up to each and every one of us to keep him on that path. Hallelujah!"

"Hallelujah!"

"The best chance he has of staying on God's path is to live amongst the godly and to steer clear of the troubled and the ungodly. Can I hear an "amen"?"

"Amen!" Nathan stood up and he and Driscoll stared at each other before Nathan walked out of the church. Audrey and I shared a look before the reverend began to speak again.

"Haven... is a fine place to raise a family. But you and I know it is chock-full of the ungodly! Can I hear an "amen"?"

"Amen!" Audrey chose that moment to storm out of the church after Nathan with me right behind her. Did he mean people like Marion? How many people were like her in this town?

"What the hell was that?" Audrey asked Nathan as we joined him on the steps.

"I have some history with the Rev," Nathan told us.

"Well, you think you could have told us that before?" Audrey asked him.

"Probably should've."

"Yeah, probably should've."

"So what do you know about him?" I asked.

"He's a pompous, self-righteous ass," Nathan told us. "He's never been violent as far as I know, just angry. Been that way since his wife died."

"All right, so you think you can keep that to yourself while we go talk to the Rev?" Audrey asked him. He looked down at his feet before getting up and going back inside the church.

"I think we can take that as a yes," I told her before we followed him inside.

* * *

We found the Rev in his office after the sermon was over and Audrey called out to him.

"Hello?"

"You left in a hurry," the Rev said smirking at us. "And you two must be Speical Agent Parker and Miss Parker."

"You keeping tabs on us, Reverend?" Audrey asked him.

"You're here about the sculpture," he said not so suddenly changing the subject.

"Tell us about the Rust Bucket," Audrey told him.

"It's a cesspool," he said looking at the ground before looking back up at us. "But someone in the town did us a favor and destroyed it."

"That "someone" being you?" Nathan asked him.

"Agent Parker, Miss Parker," The Rev moved closer to us and I stopped myself from moving back. Something was off about him, I just couldn't place what. "Has anyone taken the opportunity to welcome you properly to our town?"

"I think Nathan asked you a question," I said not bothering to hide my rudeness.

"I don't condone violence of any kind. If I wanted to destroy that bar, why would I use a sculpture from this very church?" he asked. He had a point.

"Then why were you yelling at the bartender last night?" Audrey asked him.

"Hm. Perfect timing..." he muttered. "Hanna!" I turned to see a woman about our age walking up the aisle with a teenage boy behind her. "Special Agent Parker, Miss Parker, this is my daughter, Hanna, and her foster son, Bobby."

"Hi."

"Nice to meet you," we greeted.

"Bobby, I told you, don't bring that bike in the church."

"I'm sorry... I forgot," Bobby told him.

"Hanna, would you mind telling Agent Parker why I was expressing my frustration in the bar last night?"

"Well, I, um, I'd rather not," she told him.

"My daughter hid from me the fact that she was working there," he revealed. "And I went there to bring her back to do God's work, where her talents can be a better service."

"Dad, um, everyone's waiting for you at the reception," Hanna told him, trying to change the subject again.

"Duty calls," the Rev said going back into his office.

"Hanna," Audrey called to her before she left. "Do you have anything that you may want to tell us about what happened at the Rust Bucket?"

"No, sorry, um... I only started working there, and we left hours before it happened," Hanna told us.

"Bobby, you heard anything?" Nathan asked the kid.

"No, sir." Audrey looked to me and I shook my head. I got nothing from these two.

"You mind keeping an ear out for us?" Nathan asked them.

"Sure, Nathan," Hanna said smiling at him.

"Agent Parker, Miss Parker," the two of us turned and looked back at him. "My daughter Hanna makes a dynamite seafood stew, every Sunday night, so if you're free, we'd love to be able to welcome you properly to our town."

"Thanks, but I have this whole gigantic metal ball thing that I have to look into," she told him.

"And I made plans with a guy who I owe my life too," I said. It was a complete lie, sort of. "But, let's be honest with each other, you're not telling the complete truth about why you were at The Rust Bucket and one day we just might find out why."

"Audrey, Nicole, you're not from here. So I've given you the benefit of the doubt, but let me make something clear: Those are the last questions I'll answer about that place," he told us.

"Don't have to ask questions to get answers," I pointed out before we left the church.

* * *

"Wow, what a sweetheart..." Audrey said once we were outside. "So what was that between you and his daughter?"

"I asked Hanna to the prom without her father's permission," Nathan told her. "He found out and said she couldn't go."

"Something tells me that it's not just the prom that made him barely look at you," I mentioned.

"That and 'cause we ignored him, ran up to the ledge, and watched the meteor shower."

"And...?"

"And... meteor showers are better naked," he said and I laughed.

"Nathan Wuornos! More than just a pretty face!" I laughed.

"Just another teenage boy trying to tear your girl's clothes off," Audrey said grinning up at him.

"No," he denied. "The meteor shower was my idea; the rest was hers."

"Ah..." Audrey said nodding her head obviously not believing him.

* * *

That night, I was sitting in our shared room while Audrey showered when a butterfly flew in and landed on the bed.

"Hey, you beautiful thing," I said smiling down at it. Audrey joined me in our room in a towel playing on her phone. She looked up when I spoke and smiled down at the butterfly. She knelt down in front of it and scooped it up gently.

"Polyester is so beneath you," she said before releasing it back out. "So what do you think about what we learned today?" she asked me. Before I could answer I looked up, thinking I heard the butterfly flying in again.

"I think the Rev is hiding something, not just about The Rust Bucket," I told her before we were suddenly wrapped up in the blanket that had unwoven itself to wrap us up. "Call someone," I told her since she still had her phone in her hands before we fell to the ground and continued getting wrapped up.

* * *

"What did I do on my vacation? I was cocooned by a blanket, you came and cut me out, no big deal," Audrey said to Nathan after she was fully dressed.

"I think it's a big deal," I said raising my hand and giving her a look.

"I still think the two of you should get checked out," Nathan said.

"Know what?" Audrey asked looking at the two of us. "I... I'll live, OK? And I know you'll think this is ridiculous, but when you think about it, it's gotta be the Rev. He collects butterflies, and we saw a butterfly right before I was cocooned. God, I can't believe I'm saying that."

"I can't believe it happened," I said, shiver going down my spine thinking about what could have happened.

"Look," Audrey said looking at Nathan. "You can deny strange things are going on around here, but we need to press the Rev, and we need to press hard."

"What are you gonna say?" Nathan asked her. ""You wrapped me up in a cocoon. Confess"."

"Yeah, you might have a point," she said

"We need to talk to Hanna without the Rev around. I already called the church, she's at the food bank. Her favorite days are when her father's somewhere else," Nathan told us.

"They said that?" Audrey asked him confused.

"Well... I might have added that part," he confessed closing the door behind us after we walked out.

"Can you blame her though?" I asked.


End file.
